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Comment by dr_kiszonka | Hacker News Reader

Strudel is great! But... are these really chords?

note("c4 e4 g4 c5").sound("triangle")

As a sibling comment said, it's a C major chord, but voiced one noted at a time. "usually" / in pop, you hear all the notes at once.

> but voiced one noted at a time

I think OP's point is that the very definition of a chord is a bunch of notes played at the same time.

Whereas when played separately it would be an referred to as an arpeggio. But in harmony we might still refer to it as a chord, as in saying, arpeggiate the C# minor (chord) to start moonlight sonata.

This might better be described as arpeggiating C#m second inversion or even C#m/G# in the right over C# in the left...

This is getting possibly-weird but you could call it an arpeggiation of G#sus4(#5)/C#

I think chords at least three notes played at once, with the exception of maybe power chords. Using your definition, every piece with two or more notes has chords :)

https://www.britannica.com/art/chord-music

As per my knowledge, and as per Britannica, a chord actually uses three or more notes. A two note structure is called a diad, which implies a bit of confusion in the term "power chord" (written as 5, as in G5, which == G D == 1 5).. as it is not by definition a chord but a diad.

This may be a pedantic clarification, but that is the definition

TBH "definition" depends on the theory from which you're looking at the notes.

In the eyes of the Common Practice two simultaneous notes are not chords; in rock they most definitely are; in EDM you don't even care, since timbre is all that matters; in jazz you'd say "it depends" (e.g. might even be a triad with an omitted 5th... depending on context!)

Music theory is too post-hoc.

What do you mean? Yes that is a C Major chord.

Is it? :)

https://strudel.cc/#Cm5vdGUoImM0IGU0IGc0IGM1Iikuc291bmQoInRy...

Arpeggiated chord?

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